Chapter 4 – The Return

2 ½ Years Later…

            “Does anybody know when Kyuhyun is coming back,” the leader asked, attempting to stir fry some vegetables under the guidance of one of the only cooks of their dorm.  The young man shrugged and continued to watch intently, attempting to make sure that the older did not damage his precious stainless steel cooking pans.

            A man suddenly joined them in the kitchen and wrapped his arms tightly around the youngest’s waists, earning a quick whine about how bad his morning breath smelled.  However, he was quickly silenced with a peck on the cheek.  “Kyuhyun sent me an e-mail saying that he would be back either tonight or early tomorrow morning Leeteuk,” the man with the morning breath said.

            Leeteuk continued to stir the vegetables until he felt that it was just right before setting it down on ten separate bowls.  He smiled in satisfaction.  Not because he had finally managed to burn the meals, but because he would soon be cooking for all eleven members.  Yes, it wasn’t complete as there were fifteen, but it was as close as to where they could get.  “D-Do you think he’ll be okay Yesung,” Leeteuk asked, continuing to plate the food.

            The man with the morning breath rubbed the back of his neck.  “I honestly hope so,” Yesung whispered, closing his eyes for a second.  “They’ve been away from each other for the past two years and have been on completely different countries.  I hope that that’s enough time to heal.”

            The leader nodded and continued to plate the food.

            Yes, two years was an incredibly long time for the two men.  Kyuhyun, after being excused from military duty because of his poor health, decided to pack up his bags and use the two year hiatus as an excuse to go to America for a year and be isolated. That did not, however, mean that he did absolutely nothing.  He continued to work on his solo albums and had produced two albums in the past two years, which were released to the Korean public.  Even then, he never went back home to promote or hold concerts as he kept to it that he did not step one foot in Korea.  His albums, however, never failed to top the charts even with the missing idol.

            As for Sungmin, his two years had been a difficult one.  Nine months into his military duty, he was called back home for the birth of his beautiful baby daughter.  However, the mother had promptly died after birth.  He later found out that the mother had known that it was to be a difficult labor and had refused to give up the child even though.  Sungmin was struck with guilt and, even though he never loved the woman, suffered from a slightly broken heart.  He left the baby with his parents and returned back to military duty.  After his release just a couple months ago, he rushed to his daughter’s side and refused to leave her for even a day, promising that he would be with her every step of the way.  And as the time passed, he slowly moved back into the dorms with the rest of his brothers.  They gladly accepted him back and enjoyed the company of the little girl that ran around the dorms, laughing and crying her head off during the most random hours of the day.

            However, now, with Kyuhyun’s return to Korea, the air was getting tense.

            Still, no one dared to say a word.

            A brunette man took his time as he took a deep breath in, marveling as he smelled the familiar scent of his home country.  “I’m so glad to be back,” he whispered to himself as he stepped off the plane.  He rolled his luggage around the airport, searching for his dorm mates.  He had warned them hours ago that he would be arriving early in the morning.  He was excited to see them as he forbid them to visit him in America.  He couldn’t stand anything that reminded him of…well…Korea.

            “Kyuhyun,” a distanced voice yelled out.

            The man desperately looked around, already familiar with the voice.  Before he could find out who it belonged to, he was tackled nearly to the ground.  The man hugged him tight and his breath was knocked straight out of him.  “Y-Yesung,” Kyuhyun choked out.  “I-I can’t breathe!”

            Yesung quickly pulled back, but nevertheless, didn’t let him go.  Instead, he kept his hands on his shoulder and smiled at him.  “I’m so happy that you’re back,” he muttered.  “Everybody missed you so much.”

            “I can tell,” Kyuhyun said, giving him a wink.

            Yesung chuckled as he grabbed the younger’s luggage away from his hands.  “Come on,” he said.  “Everybody’s waiting for you back at the dorm.  In the meantime, you should spill all.  I’m pretty sure I did all the talking during our e-mail exchanges.”

            “That’s because you wouldn’t stop gushing about how Ryeowook finally agreed to be your boyfriend,” he said.

            Yesung stuck his tongue out, just like the adult he was.  “Because it was a moment to be remembered,” he said.  They walked out of the airport and were met with the band’s van.  The older stuffed the luggage in the bag before rushing the younger into the car.  Then they took off, excited to meet with the other members.

            “Appa,” a little girl screamed as she ran around the living room, a little stuffed animal in her hand.

            “I’m going to get you Sa-Hyun,” a short man yelled out, attempting to grab his giraffe from the miniature adult.  She had managed to grab his most prized possession from his room.  His boyfriend had given it to him two years ago and he was intent on keeping it neat and tidy. 

            “Appa,” the little girl screamed again, attempting to run towards her father, who was slouched over the couch, sound asleep.  “Uncle Ryeowook is going to eat me!”

            “Yah,” Ryeowook yelled out, stopping for a moment.  “When did I ever say that I would eat such a cutie like you?”

            The little girl turned around and stuck her tongue out.  “Blargh,” she said, still unable to say what she wants to.

            Ryeowook quickly ran over to the girl and swooped her up into his arms and swung her around.  She squealed in joy as she felt the wind blow through her hair.  When Ryeowook’s breath became heavy, he gently put the girl and his giraffe down.  “Wook,” she mumbled, trying her best to form her sentence.  For a near three year old, she was advanced, already able to say most words.  However, her sentences were a different story.  “Love Yeye?  G-G-Giwaffe?”

            The maknae chuckled at her attempt and simply nodded.  “Yes, I love Yeye,” he explained, gently running his fingers through her sweaty hair. “That’s why I love that giraffe.”

            The little girl’s eyes twinkled as she looked down at the stuffed toy.  She quickly hugged it tight before giving back to the man in front of her.  “Keep then,” she whispered.

            “Thank you,” he whispered back, giving her a small hug.  “Now, why don’t you wake up your daddy and tell him to go and take a shower?”

            Sa-Hyun nodded and quickly rushed to her father’s sleeping figure.  Ryeowook, on the other hand, went straight to the kitchen to prepare the meal.  He knew that everything had to be perfect.  He was excited and scared at the same time, however.  Excited that his loveable younger dorm mate was finally coming home.  Scared that he would break down upon seeing the man sleeping on the couch.  But, he quickly pushed it all away, hoping that his food would at least make everything just a little bit better.

            “Take a deep breath Kyuhyun,” the elder said, gripping the maknae’s hand tight, his luggage in his other hand.

            Kyuhyun closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath in before releasing it.  Calm down.  You’ve prepared for this.  You’re ready.  He then opened his eyes and looked forward at the door.  “I’m ready Yesung,” he whispered.

            Yesung nodded and slowly opened the door to their dorm.  As they entered, loud noise seemed to flow through the hallways from the living room.  It seemed as if the members were watching something on television.  However, no one had noticed that the front door had opened, welcoming back their missing member.  So, Kyuhyun took his time to take off his shoes and coat, absorbing his surroundings.  To him, it was as if nothing had changed.  There was still the same messy shoe pile on the right side of the hallway and their endless amounts of clothes hung from wall to wall.  Tacky pictures as well as group pictures hung throughout the walls of the dorm.  He smiled at the familiarity and the nostalgic feeling he got.

            “Come on, let’s surprise them,” Yesung whispered, grabbing Kyuhyun’s hand.  “Those idiots were supposed to surprise you actually.”

            Kyuhyun chuckled at the thought.  Nothing really has changed.  They’re all still too easily distracted.  He gripped Yesung’s hands tight as they snuck into the living room.  Before they jumped out, they silently counted to three.

            “Surprise,” the two yelled out simultaneously.

            Silence.

            In the middle of the room stood a little girl, a small pink karaoke machine was planted next to her, her tiny hands gripping tightly onto the mic.  The music continued, but she gawked at the familiar man and the stranger who dared to disrupt her performance.  Her curiosity quickly turned into anger and she pouted, deciding to sit down and drop the mic.  The rest of the men in the room sighed at the sight, knowing all too well that the little one was about to throw another tantrum.  However, it was disrupted by the oldest member’s loud gasp.  Once heard, they slowly began to turn their heads, one by one.  They stood there gaping at their all too lost younger dorm mate.

            “Kyu,” the oldest member dared to whisper.  He abruptly stood up and ran over to give the young man a hug.

            “Leeteuk hyung,” Kyuhyun said, hugging the man tightly.

            “Ever the dramatic,” a feminine looking man said sarcastically.

            “Don’t ruin the moment Heechul,” Yesung scolded.

            Heechul simply shook his head and joined the two for the hug.  After a while, the rest of the members slowly came into realization and quickly rushed in to hug their one true maknae.  Even the little girl had joined in, tightly hugging Leeteuk’s legs.

            After a while, they slowly pulled away, still amazed that the young man they all cared for was finally home after two and a half years.  Kyuhyun, being Kyuhyun, decided to break the silence as he glanced down at the little girl who still gripped Leeteuk’s legs.  “So, who decided to have this darling girl,” he asked, kneeling down to reach over for a handshake.

            The little girl hesitated and looked up at Leeteuk, as if asking for permission.  The man nodded his head and the little girl walked forward and placed her small hands in Kyuhyun’s.  “Meet you,” she muttered.  Kyuhyun couldn’t help but smile at her cuteness.  “I Sa-Hyun.”

            “Nice to meet you Sa-Hyun,” he whispered back, gently shaking her hand.  “My name is Kyuhyun.”

            The little girl’s eyes widened at the mention of his name.  “Kyuhyun,” she asked clearly, her eyebrows wrinkling.  “Kyuhyun!”

            The maknae’s head tilted to the side, wondering why the little girl seemed to be so familiar with him.  He looked up at the eldest, looking into his eyes for any answers.  Leeteuk didn’t give him anything but a shrug.  “Is she yours,” Kyuhyun asked.

            “She’s mine,” an ever so familiar voice whisked its way through the air.

            Kyuhyun stiffened and didn’t dare to look towards the voice.  All he could do was look back at the little girl and study her.  No.  And he did.  Her eyes.  Her nose.  Her lips.  Her cheeks.  No.  “Kyuhyun,” the voice continued.  “It’s been a while.”

            He felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch at the contact.  I’m supposed to be okay.  No.  I am okay.  He pushed the hand away and slowly stood up, keeping his eyes on the floor.  “Kyuhyun,” the voice asked.  “Are you okay?”

            No one else dared to say a word.  However, everyone was thinking the exact same thing.  They should have been more prepared.

            Kyuhyun slowly tilted his head up to meet the face of the voice.  His expression remained controlled.  All the warmth he had felt earlier disappeared, leaving him in the cold.  His eyes met the others and he could see something sparkle.  However, from the other man’s point of view, all he could see were an empty set of eyes.

            And who else could the other man be but Kyuhyun’s first and only love.

            Lee Sungmin.

^^^^^^^^^^

A/N:  I’m terribly sorry that this took me a while to write.  I was struggling with my other fic and I didn’t want to update this before it because then I wouldn’t have any incentive to do so.  Honestly, I feel like this is flowing more freely through my head compared to the other one.  Probably because I really can’t stand fluff right now.

Well, I just started senior year, but I will continue to work hard to update this as much as possible!

Thank you guys so much and please comment, upvote, and subscribe! :)